After cruising to victory in the 13th state Senate race, the first person Marty Knollenberg thanked was his wife.

"I would not have run without Lori's blessing," he told supporters in an early victory speech at Granite City in Troy. "Michigan is a great state and I'm looking forward to moving the state forward."

With all precincts reporting, Knollenberg led with 57.8 percent of the vote, compared to 41.6 percent for Cyndi Peltonen, his Democratic opponent in the race. Just under 103,000 residents in the district cast a vote in the race.

"I think he's the right man for the job," supporter Allan Manser said about Knollenberg. "What you see is what you get."

Supporters Gage and Marcia Rooney were also at the victory party.

"Marty is the nicest guy I know," Marcia Rooney said. "I'm so happy he won the election – his heart is in the right place."

Knollenberg, 51, served in the state House from 2006-12 during the Jennifer Granholm years. The staunch Republican said he's looking forward to working with Rick Snyder and a Republican-controlled Legislature.

"We've come a long way since Snyder took office," he said. We're certainly not where we want to be, but we're better off. And I believe in four years we'll be much better off."

His dad, former congressman Joe Knollenberg, was at the party to cheer on his son with dozens of other supporters.

"My family is all about providing service to the community," Marty Knollenberg said. "My parents sort of set the stage … and for me it's all about representing the community's interest."

Peltonen, who served 20 years on the Clawson school board, called Knollenberg about 10:20 p.m. to congratulate him. They talked for several minutes and she mentioned to him that she wants to be included in education issues.

"We met a lot of people who were not really politically involved before but were excited about our campaign," she said after the call. "So we brought a lot of people together that way. Tonight, a woman I first met in 1977 but haven't talked to in 20 years saw one of my signs and said, 'Oh my goodness that's you.' So she came tonight."

Peltonen, who promoted herself as the education candidate, said a number of voters on the campaign trail seemed more interested in her party affiliation rather than her views on the issues.

"This lady yesterday said she was pretty conservative and voted 'Biblically.' I told her that I think God is for education," she said. "There's so much hyper-partisanship and I think we have to get away from that."

The 13th District includes Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Rochester and Rochester Hills, Royal Oak and Troy. Term-limited Republican Sen. John Pappageorge is not eligible to run again, creating an open seat.

In other races, Republican Mike McCready was re-elected in the 40th District state House race. County Commissioners Shelley Goodman Taub (R-12th District), Marcia Gershenson (D-13th District) and Bill Dwyer (R-14th District) retained their seats.

A millage increase proposal for library services passed in Bloomfield Township, while voters in Bloomfield Hills approved a proposal for a single waste hauler.